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Group launches bid
for full Taiwan IMF membership
By William Lowther / Staff reporter in WASHINGTON
A campaign to make Taiwan a full member of the IMF was launched by Formosa
Foundation executive director Terri Giles on Friday at a meeting on Capitol Hill
in Washington to honor the 18 participants in the foundation¡¦s 11th annual
student ambassador program.
Giles said she had discussed the idea with several members of the US Congress
and was optimistic that a resolution supporting full IMF participation for
Taiwan would be introduced in the US House of Representatives before the year¡¦s
end.
¡§It is so important for the US and Taiwan to keep building and enhancing their
relationship,¡¨ she said.
Giles added that Taiwan supporters in the US had to ¡§push the envelope¡¨ because
domestic and international pressures sometimes prevented Taiwanese leaders from
doing it themselves.
However, she warned that Taiwanese leaders would lose US trust if they ¡§said one
thing, but did another.¡¨
Participants in the foundation¡¦s program ¡X mostly Taiwanese university students
¡X held more than 156 meetings with members of Congress and their staff at the
two-week event.
¡§I can¡¦t believe the amount of support for the people of Taiwan,¡¨ said Meihsing
Kuo, a National Chengchi University graduate from Greater Kaohsiung.
¡§It was a grueling schedule, but absolutely worth it,¡¨ University of Chicago
graduate student Grace Shiow said.
The Formosa Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to ¡§promoting
greater understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and the US, and
preserving and enhancing democracy.¡¨
The Ambassador Program is aimed at connecting students and young professionals
with political experts and policymakers in Washington. Over the past eleven
years, 260 student ambassadors have held 1,608 meetings with Congress members
and staff.
¡§It is so important for young people to raise [their] voices in support of the
US-Taiwan relationship,¡¨ US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said.
Talking with the young ambassadors on the Capitol steps on Friday, Ros-Lehtinen
said the US and Taiwan had a ¡§cherished partnership¡¨ based on shared values.
She said Congress had just passed a bill calling for Taiwan to be given observer
status at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which was on its
way to the White House to be signed by US President Barack Obama.
Once it is signed, US Secretary of State John Kerry is to ¡§develop and
implement¡¨ a plan for Taiwan to secure observer status at the organization.
¡§Taiwan is one step closer to joining the ICAO and that is a positive
development for our friends,¡¨ US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations chairman
Robert Menendez said.
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